Mark Bugnaski / Gazette
James Bearup puffs on an e-cigarette at the Kalamazoo Vapor Shop, which is relocating this week to 4129 Portage St. in Kalamazoo. On Aug. 1, the local e-cigarette maker will have a grand opening at a new location.

KALAMAZOO — For cigarette smokers, James and Kristen Bearup are offering a cheaper and less harmful alternative.

“We provide electronic cigarettes and electronic e-liquid for people who want to quit smoking or want a cheaper alternative to smoking,” says James Bearup.

E-cigarettes resemble regular cigarettes right down to an LED light at the tip that lights up when the liquid inside the unit is inhaled. The e-cigarettes contain a rechargeable battery and an atomizer consisting of a heating element that warms the liquid into a water vapor, making it look a lot like cigarette smoke when it’s exhaled.

“The e-cig serves the same purpose as a (nicotine) patch in that you can wean yourself off the nicotine but still get the oral fixation of putting it in your mouth and getting that repetitive motion,” James Bearup said.

“With most units, you push a button, turn on the heating element, and it turns the nicotine into a water vapor.”

View full sizeMark Bugnaski / GazetteThe Big Kazoo is an e-cigarette device James Bearup sells at his Kalamazoo Vapor Shop. Next to the device is 30 milliliters of refill liquid that sells for $15.

James and Kristen were each pack-and-a-half-a-day smokers when they committed to quitting last year with the aid of electronic cigarettes.

Their efforts were successful, prompting them to open the Kalamazoo Vapor Shop, which is relocating this week from one business they own to a storefront at 4129 Portage St.

The liquid inside the e-cigarettes is either a nicotine-based blend or one of more than 40 different flavors that James Bearup blends himself. He said the most popular blend is a caramel-flavored tobacco followed by blueberry and regular menthol.

Bearup said e-cigarettes may be used with or without nicotine. The cost of e-cig units starts at $29.99 and increases with the number of units and the amount of liquid refills. The basic unit comes with one full e-cig, a charger and liquid cartridges.

“We resell the prefilled cartridges for $2 apiece, and we also sell the e-liquid so you can refill the cartridges yourself,” Bearup said.

When Michigan lawmakers voted to approve a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants and e-cigarettes began gaining traction as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, Bearup said he and his wife took notice.

View full sizeMark Bugnaski / GazetteThe shop sells this starter e-cigarette kit. The cost of e-cigarette units starts at $29.99 and increases with the number of units and the amount of liquid refills.

At that time, Bearup, 36, was a commercial truck driver, and his wife, 34, was managing Kalamazoo Electric Motor Inc., a business that sells and services electric motors and tools for commercial, industrial and residential uses.

Their e-cigarette business started in March 2010 in the 414 Mills St. building that houses Kalamazoo Electric Motors. Bearup said that as the Vapor Shop began averaging five to 10 customers a day, space became scarce at the Mills Street location. The new 4129 Portage St. storefront includes a lounge where customers can relax and try e-cigarettes and the custom-blended liquid formulas.

“The people who come in all want to quit,” Bearup said.

However, the e-cigarettes at Kalamazoo Vapor Shop aren’t sold as smoking-cessation aids and Bearup does not make any claims about their non-cancer causing properties because, he said, “There are no real studies about e-cigs just yet.”

One of the known advantages of e-cigarettes is that they can be smoked in a lot of places where cigarettes are banned because they’re not cigarettes and there is no secondhand smoke.

Bearup said it’s better to ask before lighting up an e-cigarette, however.

“We’ve only found a couple of places which have asked us not to use them,” he said.